1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steering wheel that is to be mounted on a vehicle.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known, as this type of steering wheel, a steering wheel in which a decorative component is mounted on part of an annular rim part so that the design property of the steering wheel is enhanced by the decorative component so mounted (for example, refer to JP-A-2000-264222). A steering wheel disclosed in JP-A-2000-264222 includes a cover portion of a synthetic resin which covers a core, a mount element of a synthetic resin which is mounted on the cover portion, and a decorative component which is brought into engagement with the mount element. The mount element is fixed to the cover portion by insert molding the synthetic resin.
The design property is one of performances required for a steering wheel, and the deformation of a designed steering wheel is required to be suppressed even when affected by a surrounding environment. In particular, in a decorative component, in the event that a decorative element which controls a design aspect of the steering wheel and a main body which functions as a base portion are made of different materials, it is considered that the deformation becomes remarkable due to the effect of heat because the physical properties such as expansion coefficients thereof differ. For example, in the event that a natural wood is used for part or the whole of the decorative element, whereas a synthetic resin is used for the base portion, in an atmosphere where the temperature is higher than the room temperature (80 to 100° C.), the wood tends to contract largely, whereby when the decorative component is viewed in cross section, it is considered that the decorative component deforms in such a manner that end portions thereof float or separate from the rim part of the steering wheel.